The present invention relates to an optical splitter module, more particularly, to an optical splitter module comprising couplers attached with optical connectors and an encasing means containing the couplers.
Conventional optical splitter modules contain a plurality of optical fiber couplers in a case and allow selective use of optical signals having a wavelength of 1310 nm or 1550 nm. The optical splitter module allows simultaneous monitoring between a service provider and a subscriber by dividing a portion of the optical signals, thus enabling prompt restoration and easy maintenance and repair of telecommunication jamming.
A conventional optical splitter module 10 shown in FIG. 1a has couplers attached with optical connectors and a case containing the couplers. The case comprises an adaptor holder 11 with optical adaptors attached thereto, a housing 12, and a cover 13 mounted on the housing. As shown in FIG. 1b, the housing includes a front portion 14, a bottom portion 15 and sidewalls 16. An upper portion of the housing is shown, opened. The front portion 14 of the housing is formed by upwardly folding a portion extending from the bottom portion of the housing. The front portion 14 of the housing is provided with an opening 17 for mounting an adaptor holder 11 of FIG. 1c with a plurality of optical adaptors attached thereto, and defines a front portion of the module when the adaptor holder is mounted on the module. The adaptor holder 11 has a wrinkled portion with a plurality of alternatively formed peaks and gullies and is inserted into opening 17 of the front portion of the housing. Both ends of the adaptor holder 11 are threaded into the front portion 14 of the housing. The cover 13 is mounted on the opened upper portion of the housing, and thus, the adaptor holder 11 is inserted and mounted between the bottom portion 15 of the housing and the cover 13. A front edge of the bottom portion 15 of the housing 12 and a front edge of the cover 13, which are adjacent to the adaptor holder 11, are manufactured to be in a straight line. According to the conventional optical splitter module, the front portion 14 of the housing is formed by upwardly folding a portion of the bottom portion 15 of the housing. Thus, the front portion 14 of the housing need to have an upper portion 18 and a lower portion 19, each generally having a height of more than 5 mm and extending transversely along the opening into which an adaptor holder, generally having a height of 15 mm, is inserted to support the adaptor holder. This increases the height of the front portion 14 of the housing generally up to about 27 mm, which results in problems such as increase in the overall height of the module 10. This, in turn, limits the number of modules that can be mounted within a chassis.
FIG. 2 shows a housing 12xe2x80x2 of another conventional optical splitter module. The housing 12xe2x80x2 does not require upper and lower portions 18 and 19, as shown in FIG. 1b, extending transversely along an opening of front portion 14xe2x80x2 of the housing. Thus, the height of the front portion 14xe2x80x2 of the housing 12xe2x80x2 can be somewhat reduced. However, as shown in the illustrated conventional module of FIG. 2, an adaptor holder is inserted and mounted between a bottom portion 15xe2x80x2 of the housing and cover. Therefore, the height of the front portion of the housing is defined by adding the thickness of the bottom portion 15xe2x80x2 of the housing and the thickness of the cover, which are generally about 2 mm, to the height of the adaptor holder, which is generally about 15 mm. Therefore, it is impractical to manufacture the module with a lower height without downsizing the optical adaptor per se.
The adaptor holders in conventional optical splitter modules have the additional problem of being unable to securely and tightly hold the optical adaptor, because the adaptor holder is supported by only threading on both ends of the front portions 14 and 14xe2x80x2 of the housings 12 and 12xe2x80x2, and the middle portions of the adaptor holder are not fixed.
The present invention is intended to solve the problems of conventional optical splitter modules as described above.
The object of the present invention is to provide an optical splitter module capable of improving the inserting capabilities of modules within a standard chassis by reducing the height of the optical splitter module.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an optical splitter module capable of tightly securing an adaptor holder by engaging the middle portion of the adaptor holder with the housing and a cover when the adaptor holder is mounted to the housing and the cover of the optical splitter module.
One aspect of the present invention is an optical splitter module including couplers to which one or more optical connectors are attached. The optical splitter module comprises an adaptor holder for fixing a plurality of optical adaptors in a line, the adaptor holder having a height the same as or smaller than the height of the optical adaptors; a housing having a means for fixing the couplers; and a cover adapted for preventing the coupler from being externally exposed. The adaptor holder, the housing and the cover are mechanically fixed to or engaged with one another, and the height of the optical splitter module is smaller than the sum of the thickness of said housing, the thickness of said cover and the height of said optical adapters.
Another aspect of the present invention is an optical splitter module including couplers to which one or more optical connectors are attached. The optical splitter module comprises an adaptor holder for fixing a plurality of optical adaptors in a line, the adaptor holder has a height the same as or smaller than that of the optical adaptor, the adaptor holder comprises a wrinkled portion with a plurality of periodically formed peaks and gullies in a longitudinal direction, the wrinkled portion having a plurality of adaptor insertion holes formed therein for receiving and supporting a plurality of optical adaptors; a housing having a means for fixing the couplers, the housing comprising a bottom portion, sidewalls extending upwardly from one or more edges of the bottom portion, and fixing portions for fixing the adaptor holder thereto, the front edge of the housing having a toothed portion formed therewith, the toothed portion corresponding to the peaks and gullies of the wrinkled portion of the adaptor holder; and a cover adapted for preventing the coupler from being externally exposed, the cover being mounted on the sidewalls of the housing, the front edge of the cover having a toothed portion formed therein, and the toothed portion corresponding to the peaks and gullies of the wrinkled portion of the adaptor holder.
A further aspect of the present invention is to provide an optical splitter module, wherein one or more holes are formed on the wrinkled portion of the adaptor holder, and wherein on the front edge of the housing or on the front edge of the cover, tabs with threaded holes are formed on positions corresponding to the positions of the holes of the adaptor holder.
Yet another aspect of the present invention is to provide an optical splitter module wherein each peak and gully of the toothed portions of the housing and the cover are engaged with the wrinkled portion of the adaptor holder, and has a projection portion adapted to be extended by the thickness of the adaptor holder so that the adaptor holder is mounted on the toothed portions of the housing and the cover.
In the preferred embodiments as summarized above, the angles between the peaks and gullies of the wrinkled portions of the adaptor holder and angles between each adjacent teeth in the toothed portions of the housing and the cover are in the range of 80xc2x0 to 100xc2x0. The lengths of the two sides forming each of the peaks and gullies are substantially identical, and the preferred optical splitter module is provided with handle portions on the front portions thereof.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.